FC Dallas and Vancouver Whitecaps FC meet on Saturday evening in Frisco in yet another massive game for the playoff aspirations of both clubs. The teams are both outside the top five in the Western Conference, each with 37 points, two points out of the playoff positions. FC Dallas are coming off a late 2-2 home draw with San Jose two weeks ago, while Whitecaps FC start a long road swing off a 2-2 draw with Chivas USA at BC Place last weekend.

• The teams are meeting for the third time this season, having played earlier in a home-and-home series over back-to-back weekends. On April 20 in Frisco, an own goal and a Blas Pérez goal gave FCD a 2-0 victory; a week later, late goals from Whitecaps FC’s Camilo Sanvezzo and Kekuta Manneh overcame a two-goal deficit to leave the teams in a 2-2 draw in Vancouver.

• FC Dallas have won five of the seven meetings all-time between the clubs, including all three encounters all-time in Frisco.

• FC Dallas took the lead nine minutes in. A Michel corner curled right to the goal line where Kenny Cooper came crashing in as Whitecaps defender Andy O’Brien tried to clear, and the ball deflected off O’Brien and redirected back and across the line.

• The lead was doubled in the 47th minute. From near the halfway line, Michel lofted a free kick that Vancouver defender Brad Rusin headed the ball backward into his own area, and FCD center back raced to meet it, poking it past goalkeeper Joe Cannon from close range.

• But Whitecaps FC pulled a goal back in the 72nd minute. Following a flurry of activity in the Dallas box which involved a fine reflex save by Dallas goalkeeper Raul Fernandez on a Camilo attempt, the ball landed at Kekuta Manneh’s feet and he rifled a shot inside the near post.

• The rookie followed that up with a surging run three minutes later, gliding past three Dallas defenders before centering across goal to Camilo, whose effort deflected off FCD defender Jair Benitez from close range, giving Fernandez little chance to react as the ball curled inside the near post.

• Dallas saw their odds of escaping with a late win go down considerably when Jackson lashed out at Alain Rochat in the 77th minute, immediately earning a straight red from referee Ricardo Salazar.

FC Dallas return to action after a week off, their last match a late 2-2 with the San Jose Earthquakes on Aug. 24 in Frisco. FCD is in a tie for sixth place in the Western Conference with 37 points from 26 matches.

• The Earthquakes got off to a flying start with two goals inside the first 16 minutes. In the eighth minute, midfielder Cordell Cato carried the ball all the way through the Dallas 18-yard box and delivered a perfect square pass for onrushing forward Alan Gordon, who knocked a low, hard, first-time shot to beat Dallas goalkeeper Raul Fernandez.

• Eight minutes later the lead was doubled. Quakes midfielder Rafael Baca sent a perfect chip over the top and to the feet of Steven Beitashour, who showed a soft touch in calmly volleying home past a helpless Fernandez.

• FC Dallas made an immediate response in the 19th minute. A cross from Michel found Je-Vaughn Watson just outside of the San Jose area, and he headed the ball forward to Blas Perez, who was able to stretch and poke the ball toward the net just before ‘Quakes keeper Jon Busch could reach it.

• In the 69th minute, Quakes center back Victor Bernardez made contact with Perez in the box and referee Baldomero Toledo pointed to the spot. Michel stepped up to take the penalty kick and calmly chipped a left-footed shot into the left side of the net.

• The Quakes went a man down in the 81st minute when Justin Morrow was shown a straight red card for taking out Dallas substitute Ramon Nunez on a breakaway. Both teams then saw a player sent off in the 86th minute when Toledo expelled Bernardez and FCD substitute Kenny Cooper.

• FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman made two changes to the team that came back for a 3-1 victory against Chivas USA at StubHub Center. Michel came into midfield for the suspended Jackson, and David Ferreira started in place of Mauro Diaz.

• For a second consecutive match, FC Dallas came back to get a result after conceding the opening goal. They have come back for five draws after allowing the opening goal, tied for second-most in MLS; they also have the one win, in the previous match vs. Chivas USA.

• “This is our third game in seven days. I didn’t play in any of those games and I’m tired. With all the traveling, flying to Portland, flying to L.A., flying back to Dallas, getting off a plane and just doing a recovery and then playing … then all the teams we’re playing having seven, 10- and 14-day breaks before they play us. I think between all of these things, the heat, the travel, the games, we were just still not 100 percent switched on,” said FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman.

• Said Michel: “Definitely one of the games with the most intensity, then on top of that having gone down by two goals in 15 minutes and the team had to come from behind. We played physical, we played well, the team showed personality and in a week with three games, it was character that brought the team back to earning a point.”

• In the four matches since FC Dallas ended their club-record goalless drought, Blas Perez has scored four goals, now with goals in back-to-back matches. He also has two assists in that stretch.

• Michel scored his second goal of the season, his first since May 18, converting a penalty kick. It was his first penalty attempt this season; Kenny Cooper had taken the previous two for FCD, converting one.

• “Michel has been working on PKs. He’s probably the [player] that’s been working on them the most out of everybody on the team,” Hyndman said. “We bring players in and we train on PKs under a lot of pressure. Out of all the things that we’ve done, right now Michel seems to be the one that’s our best PK taker.”

• Michel added his second assist in the last four matches and now has seven for the season, one behind team leader David Ferreira.

• After starting the previous two matches, his first two MLS starts, Mauro Diaz returned to the substitutes’ bench and came on for the final half-hour.

• Kellyn Acosta maintained his place in the team, starting a fourth consecutive match, this time at right back.

• “Kellyn just turned 18, this is his fourth start and I think he’s done extremely well. We wanted to see what he would look like against Stoke City where it wouldn’t really put the team in jeopardy, and he did very well,” said Hyndman. “He played three or four different positions. Zach (Loyd) got hurt and Kellyn’s done a fantastic job.”

Vancouver Whitecaps FC put an end to their two-game losing slide, getting a late equalizer for a 2-2 draw with Chivas USA on Sunday evening at BC Place. Whitecaps FC are in a tie for sixth place in the Western Conference with 37 points from 26 matches.

LAST MATCH

• Chivas USA had a two-goal lead before the game was a quarter-hour old. After just three minutes, Erick Torres scored with an incredible overhead kick from the edge of the area after Andy O'Brien headed a ball straight up around the top of the box, finishing spectacularly into the top left corner of David Ousted's goal.

• Torres and Chivas had their second in the 14th minute when he headed home a cross from Edgar Mejia, nodding home into the bottom corner from the heart of the penalty area.

• Whitecaps FC began their fightback in the 64th minute. Gershon Koffie caught Chivas goalkeeper Dan Kennedy wandering, firing home a right-footed effort from distance after the goalkeeper's left-footed clearance went straight to him, unable to readjust after getting back into the goalmouth.

• The equalizer came three minutes into stoppage time with what was almost the last kick of the game. Kekuta Manneh found Erik Hurtado with a cross from the left and he nodded the ball into the path of Tommy Heinemann, who turned home from the edge of the goal area.

• Whitecaps FC head coach Martin Rennie made two changes to the team that fell 1-0 to the LA Galaxy at BC Place. Kekuta Manneh and Camilo Sanvezzo came back into the side, in place of Darren Mattocks and the suspended Nigel Reo-Coker.

• While Whitecaps FC were able to salvage a late point from the Chivas USA draw, they saw their winless streak again hit three matches. They’ve won once in the last seven games, with five points of a possible 21 in that span.

• “Inexplicably, we started slowly again,” Vancouver head coach Martin Rennie said. “Two weeks in a row after two minutes or three minutes, we're a goal down, so that's very, very frustrating. What made this one worse was that we then lost another goal.”

• Whitecaps FC start a three-game road trip with the visit to FC Dallas, then going to San Jose and Montréal. Five of Vancouver’s final eight games this season are away from BC Place; they are 2-7-3 on their travels this season.

• “It's about going away to Dallas next week, to San Jose after that and to Montreal after that, and actually crossing that white line and perform enough and well enough to go and get the results we need, because – let's be honest, we're going to need more than one win,” said Kenny Miller. “We're going to need a few points to make sure we give ourselves a chance going into those last five games, because this is a hit or miss three-game run on the road.”

• Said Rennie: “I think that going into this stage of the season, we’ve got a chance to play a number of games on the road, in a row, which I think allows us to come up with a way to play and really focus and make sure that we do well on the road. Because, in the end, you want to get in the playoffs and be able to win on the road in the playoffs.”

• Tom Heinemann scored his first goal of the season, making his longest appearance as a substitute in a league game since May 4.

• “We changed our system and we went with three at the back and got Heinemann on, we got Hurtado on, and I thought in the end they had a big impact on the game, and did make a big difference,” said Rennie.

• After a one-match absence, Camilo Sanvezzo returned to the team and played the full 90 minutes, partnering Kenny Miller in a twin-striker setup.

• “We had to make a lot of changes, changed our system and the players showed a lot of desire, a lot of heart, a lot of belief and in the end that’s going to be what we require down these next eight games to get results and to get into the position that we want to get into,” Rennie said.